Apple today released the latest beta for its upcoming iOS 6 mobile operating system. Although iOS 6 doesn’t make any huge leaps forward visually or productivity wise, the operating system has caught quite a bit of attention for what it lacks.

IOS 6 marks the first release of the operating system that doesn’t come preloaded with Google Maps. Instead, Apple kicked Google to the curb and included its own mapping service (which is actually not as functionally complete as Google Maps on many fronts).

Next, Apple passive aggressively removed the name “Google” from the search field in Safari, which signified that Google was powering search results (iOS also includes search options for Bing and Yahoo).

Now, Apple has taken the next step in ridding itself of Google’s “hooks” into iOS. In iOS 6 Beta 4, Apple has removed the YouTube app from the Springboard. The YouTube app has been featured on iOS ever since the iPhone’s introduction in 2007.

According to The Verge, this is what Apple has to say on the matter:

Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.

At least iOS users can rest assured that YouTube will continue to function normally through Safari. In addition, Google is working on a standalone Maps app that will be available in the App Store and should reintroduce the features that Apple stripped from its own mapping app with iOS 6.

"how anti-competitive can you be when removing a competitors product that all your customers want from a shipping product?"

The way Amazon Fire doesn't ship the various top-tier Google apps?

Don't make this out to be some big moral drama. If you do, you're going to find it gets very very messy with Amazon, Apple and Google ALL playing the same sort of game against each other, all making choices based on a combination of- screw the other guy over AND- what's best for our customers

said that I suspected. I stand corrected. Based on apples past behavior it was a valid assumption. and I don't hate apple, I'm glad for the inputs but I am sick and tired of hearing about the lawsuits and their petty asinine attitude about everything.

Its not "personal" but I do love smartphones and I do hate the fact that Apple is trying to stifle competition with its unwarranted lawsuits and petty hypocritical allegations. It holds all smartphone users back.

If you cant see why that bothers so many people, then you are probably a hopeless Apple fanboy.

corduroygt, with iOS modification, Google Maps has navigation. Apple wouldn't license the voice API to Google presumably because Apple was reserving it for use with Siri.

In reality, Apple didn't want Google to steal the "secrets" of Siri, but you'd have to ride the short bus to think Siri is even worth stealing...

It's been obvious for years that Apple doesn't want to be competitive and simply wants to strongarm the industry. They would prefer all major applications be strictly Apple applications, and the peon developers can make their pennies.

Apple takes 30% of every sale on the App store. They are the de-facto publisher of all the apps in the "App Store." Anything installed from the "App Store" is at best a second party application, not a true third party. To truly be third party you can not be affiliated with either the vendor nor the customer.

If you install 3rd party software on your iOS device Apple will void your warranty.

Not necessarily. I don't care a whit about having 1 billion crapps on my phone/tablet. The things preventing me from getting a Windows phone are the sub-standard phone hardware tech, the lack of models/manufacturers to choose from, and some peeves with the UI. From a software technology standpoint, I think Microsoft has a lot more to offer in the long term than either Apple or Google.

Sub-standard hardware? You mean like a top connection of 3G? Or 802.11n at 2.4GHz only? Or only a 5Mp camera (which they do make the most of, I'll admit), or recording limited to a best of 30fps? Or the limited codec decoding capability? iPhone was a great device, now it is the "Cool" retro device. They have failed to truly improve on the original great device in any truly meaningful way. Just look, the biggest news about iOS 6 is that it removes Google products. Apple is straddling the void like M$ did with WM6.5 & if they don't come up with something big, they will be the next RIM or WM6.x device.

Retro Device? lolAndroid phones remind me of my free motorola flip phone from 2004...Not that i dont like that slow clunky interface...Shitty resolution...An "open" platform but never any updates...Buggy apps..Droids are definitely the future...